The fence

We finally get a decent day and the first thing I think of is ugh, now I've got to get that fence cleaned. Those of you who are familiar with my parents property know the long white vinyl fence that goes around the whole property. Well after a year of damp weather, the fence always needs to be washed. And now I am wishing we had started sooner.





This picture really doesn't do it justice. This the pasture side which tends to be grosser. But why do the pasture side you ask... Because it is my father's fence and I am my father's daughter. If he were with me this afternoon he would say, "if it were me..." and then proceed to show me how he would do it and continue to do the entire job while I patiently watch. He originally told us not to use the pressure washer and so scrub it by hand so as to get the underside of each railing and all around the posts and not spray up dirt in the process. Last spring after about 15 minutes of that, I said "forget this!" and hauled out the pressure washer. We eventually got the whole thing washed and now the year has rolled around again and the fence is dirty as ever. I remember as a kid it was a wood fence and we got the lovely task if white washing it every year or so. Not sure which is worse. We had the kids out there and they "helped" a little and I hope they are learning a little about work just like dad taught me. So tomorrow after my spinning class I will be out with my trusty pressure washer spraying away the filth that lives on the fence. Hopefully the whole thing will be done by the 4th of July...

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Pre-Mother's Day

Justin was going to be gone all day today and I had no pressing tasks so I decided to have a "mom and kid day of fun." Part way through the day I realized I was kind of giving myself a mother's day present. I got to spend all day with my most prized possessions and enjoyed it immensely.

After my cycling class at the gym, we hustled to the library for their Bug Safari Show. It was pretty cool and the kids got to pet a hissing cockroach and see a tarantula up very close. We were going to go to Costco for lunch but Tripp desperately needed a nap so we decided to switch the plan and do Costco for dinner.

I told Elliot that before the next fun we need to do toy organization for 30 minutes. We set the timer and got it done. A mothers day gift, in deed, as I love it when the toy bins look like this.



So lunch was a picnic while we watched Tangled. I had never seen it and Elliot was anxious for me to experience it. She had to give commentary through the whole thing, but thats okay. It was a cute movie.


Next we played a few games and I cleaned up the kitchen, realizing the fridge was sure dirty. So the kids playing so well...









...let me accomplish this...



(and if you could only see how clean the shelves are! Another mother's day present to me!)

*a side note... Note the chicken pot pie from costco on the bottom shelf. I told Justin that I wanted him to plan and make dinner. Next thing I know he is asking me to get a pot pie from Costco. Now I do love those but wasn't exactly what I was looking for on mother's day. Oh well...

We headed to costco for granola bars and bread and hot dogs that the kids had been looking so forward to all day. Good by me.



So we will see what the real mother's day brings. I try not to have high hopes so that anything will be good. I am truly blessed with 3 beautiful children and a loving husband. However, the smallest beauty is crying in his crib despite it neighbor bedtime so I must go. Wish me luck!

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Elliot is SIX!!!

Happy birthday to the best little girl we could ever hope for!

We had three fun filled days of birthday celebrations. Thursday I went to her classroom to take mini cupcakes to the class. Each cupcake had a ring or an army man on them too.






Friday we went to the childrens museum with two of her friends, Cara and Shelby. We all had a lot of fun and I was glad to get to chat with my longtime friend, Jolene, who happens to be Shelby's mom. Sorry pictures are on the camera and will be got to later.

Today, we had a present celebration including a bike (which I fear is too big). Then we spent the afternoon at the Seattle Aquarium and dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. Again, pictures are on the camera and will be attended to later. It was a good day but I am beat!



The barbie cake she asked for. Had to sacrifice poor barbies legs to make it work. Luckily she may have gotten a barbie or two for her birthday.



I am so grateful that Elliot is in our family. She is a ray of sunshine most of the time. She is creative and sweet and a huge helper. I love you!!!

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Reading game

I have really been trying to push elliot into reading, which has been just as frustrating for her as it has been for me. Thanks to my sister-in-law Lisa who sent me a link of an easy "game" to make and use to help kids put sounds together. You use paint sample cards from the hardware store. Today we went to Home Depot for their free kids' workshop and I grabbed handfuls of those paint cards.

Here are the kids with their eye protection ready to hammer away!



So here is the website with the idea: http://thesnailstrail.blogspot.com/2009/05/whats-in-workbox-handmade-word-family.html

Basically, it is taking smaller ones and cutting into individual sections and then I used a punch so that a letter or set of letters will show through as you practice blending the sounds together. As you can see, it makes for lots of word options- some real words, some not.


Elliot tried it tonight and was being very successful! Because you work on one type of word at a time (for instance "-at" words) the repetition is great. So far working better than flash cards!


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March 24th- Happy Birthday Tripp!

True to the third born, I am late getting a birthday post done for poor Trippster. This was him the morning of his birthday:









We had a normal non-work day, but with the added fun of getting ready to head to St. George the next morning. I did manage to get a cake made for him and in honor of march madness, we went for a basketball theme.


Today was his well child check up and as expected he is healthy as can be. A little small, especially compared to my others. He is almost 22 pounds (33%) and 30 inches (55%). His head is in the 85%!

He has been a little bit of a challenge this first year especially with the move but I can't imagine life without him. He has a grin that can light up the room and little squeal that is contagious. He is not quite walking yet but I am sure it is in the near future. He will eat ANYTHING you give him and has completely weaned himself about 2 months ago. He is a mama's boy through and through and I am trying to enjoy that now because it probably won't last.


We love you, Tripp!!!

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St. George

The kids and I have been in St. George since Friday visiting my parents. We were lucky enough to have my brother Mark and his wife, Hannah, visiting too. Saturday (after some unwelcome rain) we went to this very cool park nearby and hiked up and around all the rocks. The kids had a blast! I took a few pictures with my phone as shown here. There were more taken by my camera but I will have to upload those later.















Today we went to Zions Park and did another hike and saw some amazing landscapes. Those pictures also on my camera so they will be to come. Tomorrow, massage and pedicure with my mom...ahhhhh!!!!

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Trying BlogPress

I knew I would blog more if I would be able to update from my iPhone so I think I have finally found a way to do just that. I bought this app and we will see how it works! Here is a picture from dinner tonight:


What a stud...

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